Daily Princetonian Makes Fun of Stereotypical Asian Students

Applying to College
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<p>kateapollo: You are racist, ignorant ■■■■■■■!!! That was extremely offensive. I think Im going to have contact the moderator of the forum about the racism of that joke. In fact, I’m going to have to start a whole thread about it. </p>

<p>I’m just kidding. Just trying to put things in perspective about people who crack jokes, however bad they were (im sorry, but you are not exactly hilarious) and suddenly people get all PC.</p>

<p>As for my sob story, I am just responding your claims that you think I am racially insensitive, etc. Just thought I would fill you in.</p>

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<p>How does your being Black have anything to do with not being racially insensitive?</p>

<p>When I first moved to Georgia, the first racist remarks I received came from Blacks. Then, it was the stereotypical rednecks.</p>

<p>Before I moved, I had a pretty neutral view of Blacks. Treat them the way you want to be treated. If I didn’t meet many other Black students who were far nicer, I just might have become a racist.</p>

<p>Point of my story? Your being Black doesn’t have anything to do with not being racially insensitive.</p>

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<p>“He said he wasn’t suing to get in (or because he got waitlisted), rather he doesn’t want race to be a factor in the admissions process. Would you call that self-serving? Bitterness?”</p>

<p>Isn’t this an honorable thing to do? How the hell can the Princetonian or others mock Jian for doing this?</p>

<p>I seirously don’t understand it…</p>

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<p>My cynical side informs me that real motives and expressed motives are not always the same thing. As I said earlier, how do <em>we</em> know if he’s bitter or not? ;)</p>

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Me neither.</p>

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<p>It’s easy to insult and target Asians and get away with it. Many Asians have a tendency to avoid outright confrontation of that nature in the first place, which is why people think its still acceptable to go after them. In the second place, when some Asians DO call discrimination to attention, others can’t understand what they would have to be really upset about and label them as humorless and just whining. It’s the “model minority” thing-- Asians are seen as having it “good”-- look at all the Asian doctors and businessmen and engineers and college students!— so what do they have to legitimately complain about? </p>

<p>Asians have a long way to go in this country, in terms of race relations and social/cultural aspects. Sure they might be in top spots in medicine and science and engineering, but not in a more general, public, cultural sphere.</p>

<p>By the way, fabrizio:</p>

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<p>Very, very, very good point.</p>

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<p>warblersrule86,
How do we know anything about this process…? Why would he lie about his motives? What would his real motives be? To spite Princeton, the one school that waitlisted him? Do you think he’s really still upset with Princeton and wants to get in by suing?</p>

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<p>I don’t think there are many Yalies who are bitter about not becoming Princetonians. It’s like a guy who makes the cut with the New England Patriots being jealous of the guys who made the team for the Oakland Raiders. Okay, it’s not that exaggerated, but you get my drift. People can have many guesses at what Jian Li’s motives are, but jealousy at not getting into Princeton is most likely not one of them. </p>

<p>People who keep repeating ad nauseum Asians should lighten up seem to lack in the empathy department. For all Asian-American kids growing up, there are very little positive role models in the media for them (I sure wouldn’t want to be an Asian teen in the 1980s, with Japan-phobia gripping the U.S.). Thus, every negative jib or jab doubly hurts because there’s nothing positive to counter-balance it. Recently, there’s been a surge of Asian representation in the media, but that’s only within the last 3 years or so. Before that, there was this vacuum of positive Asian-American role models. Think about this before accusing Asian-Americans of being hypersensitive. Given the complete dearth of positive portrayal, why shouldn’t they be very sensitive? I always hear that American audiences aren’t ready for Asian (especially male) heroes in the media, but they sure as hell seem more than ready for Asian sideshows (William Hung). What does that tell us about society? It tells me that America is willing to give Asians the spotlight, but only to make non-Asians look better.</p>

<p>And the editor is Indian? I guess that makes him nominally Asian, but that’s like saying a Columbian and a Canadian are the same because they’re all part of the same land mass. An Indian can’t fully relate to the racial tribulations of a Chinese, and vice versa. Yet they are lumped together as “Asians” by a society that doesn’t care to differentiate amongst minorities.</p>

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<p>uh oh, one day and I already had like 5 pages above my post … I wonder where my post goes, can’t really follow this. you guys need to slow down, or else I’ll hack CC and no one gets to talk. </p>

<p>relax j/k go on!</p>

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<p>For everyone’s information: nbachris2788 always gets it right. Always.</p>

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<p>Ok, when did this conversation devolve into personal attacks between us.</p>

<p>This is not about who “deserves” to be where. None of you really know what was on Jian Li’s application, do you? He could have written a terrible essay that was narcissistic and self-serving. He could have had bad teacher recommendations. Personally what I think happened was that Yale “negotiated” for him in the first place behind the scenes, and Princeton decided to trade him in place of another applicant. Of course, there is no evidence that will ever be disclosed to us any time soon, so it is all obscured, and the discussion is closed. </p>

<p>The point is about this article written in the Daily Princetonian, a publication run by Princeton students, not Princeton University. Obviously there is a difference. You have absolutely no grounds to accuse Princeton University’s admissions department of having an anti-Asian bias, so that discussion is closed too. So what we are left with here is this: </p>

<p>Does this article represent the majority opinion of Princeton students regarding students with East Asian backgrounds? The answer to that is a resounding “No.” Princeton students really do celebrate the diversity we have here, and as far as I can see East Asian student groups are flourishing. </p>

<p>Secondly, how should the Daily Princetonian apologize to those it has offended? Does it reserve the right to leave the issue unreconciled? In my opinion, it does not have the right to do so, as the Daily Princetonian is a student-run newspaper, and should thus take the opinions and views of its readers very seriously. </p>

<p>Do you think that because there are so many outstanding applicants with East Asian backgrounds that admissions committees have the incentive to favor other ethnic groups over them? Absolutely not. One major example that works with Princeton is that Princeton has some very wealthy alumni who are “Asian”. The paramount example is Sir Gordon Ying Sheung Wu, a Knight of the British Empire and the chairman of Hopewell Holdings, a development firm in Hong Kong, making him have a net worth of hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars. </p>

<p>“Wu graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering in 1958…in 1984, Wu donated a worth of US $5 million of his company shares to Princeton University and formed a charity fund. Wu has also donated US$100 million to the university, a sum he planned to make available for university use in 2008, on the occasion of his 50th reunion. In a talk given in October 2006, however, Wu revealed intentions of making the contribution available to the university as sooner.” </p>

<p>Do you actually think Princeton is obtuse enough to risk the generosity of such a powerful Princeton alumnus? The answer is no. Butler College’s dining hall is named after him, and its one of the nicest dining halls on campus. </p>

<p>What I’m getting at is you cannot boil down everything so easily. This is not an Ivy-League conspiracy against students of East Asian descent. This is the result of poor planning and management by the Daily Princetonian staff, something that happens with joke issues very often, and they will have to take the flak for what they did.</p>

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<p>“when a college newspaper article lampooning native americans, blacks, etc…are made public (see Dartmouth especially).”</p>

<p>To set the record straight, the newspaper you speak of above is The Dartmouth Review, which has no real connection to the college. When the paper was first founded, the college sued the paper to stop using the name, but, because businesses such as The Dartmouth Bookstore were privately owned without complaint, the suit was decided in favor of the ultra-conservative The Dartmouth Review.</p>

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<p>being black as a minority in the US with its history is definitely correlated to an understanding of racial profiling and being sensitive to race. i think its crazy for anyone else to suggest otherwise. white people have no idea what its like being a black person–so dont say that you understand what its like. you dont. end of story. </p>

<p>anyway, i voiced my opinion about the article, which is a valid opinion. however, nobody had anything constructive to say about my argument except the guy Tokyo…and nobody wants to admit that they are TOTALLY going overboard about this article. </p>

<p>and if anyone had the guts to say something different from what everyone else thinks, immediately people start throwing insults at him/her. </p>

<p>so, there cant be a debate about an important issue without getting personal. which is sad. because in the real world out large there, and i mean at the level where actual decisions are made, you have use evidence wisely and be respectful of others. </p>

<p>so, that being said, im out of here. and I cant wait to go to Princeton where I get to engage in stimulating and interesting dialogue, and where people can actually get me to see their point.</p>

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guppy8888,
Interesting you say that considering that’s exactly what Jian did. People hardly did his argument justice - misconstruing it to be a narrow-minded personal vendetta, and characterizing him as “the stereotypical Asian.”</p>

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<p>guppy8888,</p>

<p>Correlated to an understanding of racial profiling? Only if “understanding” means “acknowledging its existence.”</p>

<p>Sensitive to race? Not where I live. I still remember a racial incident in the cafeteria last year. My APUSH class normally ate in first lunch, but due to a test, we ate in the third session. Our habitual table was also the table of habit for three girls (c.f. the twelve of us). We got there first, and there was room for all fifteen of us to sit together, but they weren’t having any of it.</p>

<p>“Y’all best be gone.”</p>

<p><em>One of them proceeds to throw my bookbag onto the floor</em></p>

<p>“Why can’t we sit together?”</p>

<p>“Tired of y’all White people thinking you can tell us what to do.”</p>

<p><em>They leave</em></p>

<p>Two minutes later, they return with one of the assistant principals. He asks us why we were sitting in their usual spot. We tell our story. He accepts it, shrugs his shoulders, and tells the girls there’s nothing he can do. The girls leave, uttering racial epithets as they go.</p>

<p>It goes without saying that the three girls are Black. I should mention that I am Asian, but they made no distinction. I should also mention that the assistant principal they asked is Black.</p>

<p>Point of the story? I contest your belief that Blacks are naturally sensitive to race. And, it is definitely NOT crazy to suggest otherwise.</p>

<p>I guarantee you that you wouldn’t be saying “totally overboard” if this article used nineteenth-century Black stereotypes. Your first paragraph suggests that, anyway (racial sensitivity).</p>

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<p>The types of incidents fabrizio cited go on all the time where I live. This is not an isolated case.</p>

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<p>The conversation on this thread no longer concerns the original topic. I will not be posting here anymore.</p>

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<p>Sensitive to African-American issues and an African-American perspective. Understanding of an Asian-American perspective and experience? Not necessarily. Not necessarily in the slightest. </p>

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<p>And that is a TOTALLY subjective statement and opinion on your part. Don’t presume to speak that “nobody” is loathe to “admit” something. Maybe there’s nothing to admit. It’s the same arrogance that made you accuse Asians of “covering up” because they complained about stereotypes.</p>

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<p>What’s your evidence that Asians are just “covering up”? Where’s your respect for their feelings and their opinions and perspective? Just because you’re black doesn’t mean you somehow understand them. In your case, hardly. Where’s your evidence that people aren’t “admitting” that something isn’t actually a big deal when many do in fact feel offended and outraged? </p>

<p>For someone who says you’re so poor and hard-working, you’re certainly a little uppity, aren’t you? </p>

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<p>Needless to say, you won’t be missed. And there was a poster named Tokyo on this thread? I didn’t notice.</p>

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<p>we should close or delete this thread, i was away from 1 hr and i have no idea where the conversation is going now lol =/ gl! to everyone to continue this fruitless endeavor into nowhere =D</p>

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<p>LOL what does THAT mean? whatever. kateapollo: you have a lot of pent up agression and youve just asking for a fight for the past few pages. anyway, youre not getting it. so…</p>

<p>gotta agree with darkhope, this thread is getting pointless and really annoying.</p>

<p>so, PEACE and LOVE to you all.</p>

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<p>Of course you’d address a comment about you personally but won’t address the other questions I asked about what evidence you have for your presumptious and arrogant (or “uppity”-- or is that a bad choice of words?) statements about why Asians actually feel offended.</p>

<p>PS: Just because you’re getting called out on a thread doesn’t mean its entirely pointless for everyone else. Sort of like how just because you think the reaction to the story was overblown doesn’t mean that “everyone” else is just exaggerating and “the Asians” are just overreacting to “cover up” for their <em>secret motives.</em></p>

<p>Now, make good on your word this time and don’t post on this thread again. It would make it a whole lot less annoying without you.</p>